


A Moment in Time

by Alethia



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, The Original Series too, Time Travel Fix-It, big damn fix-it, fixing ALL of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 13:39:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18550891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alethia/pseuds/Alethia
Summary: Chris shook his head at her, helpless. "Michael, you can't.""I can. Idid," she said, vehement, as if daring him to refute what his own eyes could see. "You always do what's honorable. I'm doing what's right. Some sacrifices are too much, Chris."





	A Moment in Time

**Author's Note:**

> Post-season Pike fix-it fic that spans both _Discovery_ and _TOS_ because I'm fixing _all_ of it, dammit. I blame [theislandergirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theislandergirl/pseuds/theislandergirl) for getting this stuck in my head when I should be working on that other story that's getting too long. Also posted [here](https://alethia.dreamwidth.org/1027888.html).

Alarms blared loud and urgent as something _exploded_ within the core, shaking all of Engineering, panels rupturing around them, sparks and debris flying. Adrenaline shot through Chris as the baffle plate _cracked_ , the training mission turning on a dime, cadets scattering in panic. 

"Go! Get out of here!" he shouted, waving scared cadets toward the blast doors as the computer warned of an impending lockdown. But even as his heart pounded in his ears, as he swallowed against the metal tang of adrenaline, a sense of calm settled around him; he'd seen this before. He knew what this was. 

This was the day everything changed. _"Your fate will be sealed,"_ Tenavik had said, informing him of the price he would pay for the crystal, which he knew— _he knew_ —they would need to stop Control. 

The bill had finally come due. Chris' heart slowed as he realized: he was glad to pay it. He'd led a worthy life; he'd helped save the galaxy, he'd known love. It was enough. 

He shouted to the cadet at the control panel. "Leave it, Cadet! We gotta get out of here!" Next would come the explosion, flinging her back—

Except this time, it didn't. 

A red glow appeared under the arch beside the core, blocked from the view of the cadets outside, an energy beam blasting toward the cracking baffle plate. Something about it pinged deep in Chris' brain, but the cadet didn't understand, ducking, her terrified cry ringing out. 

Chris registered the shock of it—this was wrong, it didn't go like this—but he wasn't going to question saving another life. "Evacuate, Cadet! That's an order!"

She finally listened, running to safety as Chris moved toward the red glow, rounding the archway—

To find the red angel shooting the energy beam at the baffle plate, fusing the transparent metal as he watched, patching the breach before it could explode. Confusion swamped Chris; what was she _doing_? 

He heard the blast doors slam closed, sealing him in, but the final rupture didn't come. Nor did the pain.

Instead Chris panted, harsh, watching as the baffle plate held and the energy beam ceased. The red angel landed, powering down. A beat as the suit disengaged—

And Chris saw a face he never thought he'd see again. 

Michael stepped out, looking exactly the same as the last time he saw her, only now she was staring at him in wonder, not loss. 

"Michael," he breathed, shaken to his very foundation—this wasn't how it went, he didn't know what to _do_.

Her eyes lit up and then she rushed to him, _into_ his arms, warm and solid and _real_. She gripped him tight, like she never wanted to let go. "Chris," she said, a deep ache in her voice. 

Chris startled—she'd _never_ called him that, not once—but he still held her close, breathing her in. She smelled the same. He hadn't even realized he'd known what she smelled like, not when all they'd had was one moment amidst the chaos. Yet it was true nonetheless, Michael smelling the same, _feeling the same_ as she laughed into his shoulder, a joyful exhale.

But then sense returned and he pulled away, gripping her shoulders, staring into her dark eyes. They both knew...none of this should be happening. 

Chris shook his head at her, helpless. "Michael, you can't."

"I can. I _did_ ," she said, vehement, as if daring him to refute what his own eyes could see. "You always do what's honorable. I'm doing what's right. Some sacrifices are too much, Chris."

"You're changing the timeline—"

Michael scoffed. "The timeline's been changed before. It will be changed again. The so-called purity of time is highly overrated."

Chris made a frustrated noise, squeezing her arms again, feeling her flex against him, not giving in. Never giving in. "Not to toot my own horn here, but this isn't negligible. I'm a Fleet Captain, in line for the Admiralty. Every day I hold countless lives in my hands. The ramifications are beyond comprehension."

"Of course you think of how this will impact everyone else," she muttered, shaking her head at him. "So quit. Leave Starfleet now, retire to a desert island somewhere, never speak to anyone again. That will take Captain Christopher Pike out of play as surely as the agony that awaited you. Only now it's on _your_ terms."

"Why would you do this?" He stared at her, trying to parse it. "If you're here, you must know all the pieces in play. You know I saw this when I took that time crystal. I knew this day would come; I accepted it. So why?"

Michael took a step closer, Chris releasing his hold on her. She pressed her arms against his chest, looking up at him like she _needed_ him to understand. "You accepted the choice that was before you, but that doesn't mean it's the only one. You can have a different future."

"That's not an answer."

Michael's eyes moved over his face, something new coming over her expression, something he'd only seen once—when she'd rushed after him after that final bridge salute, pulling him close. Obliterating the careful distance they'd always maintained. 

She wasn't distant now, pressed against him, her fingers gripping his uniform coat. "I've been all kinds of places, seen all kinds of things. I've never found your equal," she said, reaching up to touch the corner of his mouth, almost reverent. 

Chris sucked in a breath, the truth of that landing hard. Only after she was gone did he realize what had happened, how amidst the chaos and uncertainty, he'd found someone who made him...real. He'd been waiting his whole life for her, and they'd only had that one heady moment, that one stolen kiss, before she'd walked off to don the suit and leave his life forever. 

He'd counted himself lucky. Even if it was barely more than an instant, he'd _had_ her, the universe expanding in his chest, both infinite and tiny, Michael in his arms the only thing that mattered. He was _lucky_. Lots of people didn't even get that. 

And now she was _here_ , looking at him like they could have more. 

"Come with me, Chris," she breathed, emotion in her eyes, too intense for him to comprehend. "Be— _be_ with me."

"...what?" he asked, reeling, his voice shaking. 

Michael looked away, pain flickering through her expression, a deep grief he didn't understand. "When I saw your fate I couldn't—I couldn't allow that to be the end. You don't deserve it. In a just universe, that cannot be the reward for leading a good life. It's not _right._ And I realized...I could change it." She met his eyes again, pleading. "I could have you for real."

His heart leapt, her words everything he'd thought to himself, _raged_ to himself, how unfair it was that he should be consigned to such a fate. After everything he'd done—

But of course that was selfish. And childish, something he'd had to move past to function at all. There was no justice to the universe; the universe simply _was_. 

Chris swallowed his emotion, how _much_ he wanted to sink into her words. "Michael, it's not just about what we want."

"But what we want _matters_. Life is more than just sacrificing your heart for the greater good. Love _matters_ ," she insisted, her voice cracking on the emotion. At the loss of control, she shook her head, visibly reining herself in. "It won't even change the timeline that much," she justified. "Captain Christopher Pike will disappear in a flash of red light amidst a core meltdown. You'll disappear from history, just like in the former timeline. Only this way...we get to be together."

Chris yearned for that—a life free of the constant dread he'd felt for his own fate, the endless grief for himself. And here Michael was, offering it. Offering... _everything_. 

"It's enough," she said, voice trembling, want mixing with fear, like she was just now realizing that she might have done all this and still failed. "You've sacrificed enough. You accepted a terrible fate, you let go of what we could've had, all to save the galaxy. And we did. But we can have each other now. If we want," she added, small, like there was a universe where he _wouldn't_ want that. 

Chris breathed out, framing her face in his hands. "You saved me," he said, awed, still not quite believing it.

"We save each other. Over and over again." She looked at him and now he knew what was in her eyes, what he'd always known: love. He just never thought he'd get a chance to truly have it. "Come with me, Chris."

He pressed his mouth to hers, flashing back to the only time they'd done this—tears in Michael's eyes, whispering _we could have been great_ before wrenching herself away and never looking back. But this time, instead of loss it was joy, Michael throwing herself into the kiss with the glorious abandon of a new beginning. 

When Chris pulled back, she was smiling, a tear slipping down her cheek. He brushed it away, marveling that he even could.

He cleared his throat, trying to regain some equilibrium, remembering that there were likely crewmen on the other side of the blast door, working to get the all-clear to come find him. "Well, Commander, I hope you have a plan because I don't think I'll fit in your suit."

Michael tapped a panel on the suit, which retracted, some kind of nanotech flying out, instantly assembling a futuristic pod beside her, technology the likes of which he'd never seen. He raised startled eyes to find her smiling, maybe a shade cocky. "You can thank Reno later."

Chris tilted his head and returned the smile. "Then let's hit it."

***

Fin. Feedback is adored.

**Author's Note:**

> helsinkibaby wrote a lovely sequel to this: [read my lips](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19031047).

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Another Moment in Time](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18562375) by [Persiflage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage)




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